“She’s right,” Jugar said in astonishment. “In such a calamity one might expect an even greater number of noncombatants to fall prey to the terrible confusion of war.
“And there’s not enough of the dead,” Belag nodded. “This was terrible, indeed, but even so there are nowhere near enough dead to account for the entire city.”
“He saved them,” the Lyric said simply.
“Who saved them,” Belag asked.
The Lyric pointed again, this time to the far side of the commons.
Belag’s eyes opened wide.
RuuKag-or what was left of him-lay dead against the wall. His eyes were dull and blood stained the corners of his open jaws and his bared teeth. The hair was burned entirely off his left side where the raw red of his muscle was exposed. His right arm hung at an impossible angle, flopping limply over one of the three shafts that pierced his chest.
Next to him was a crumpled form in robes, an elf whose throat had been torn out.
“Elves!” Belag snarled.
“Back again, eh?” The dwarf gritted his teeth.
“Look! There are more of them,” Urulani said, again pointing to various places around the hall. “Four. . six. . wait, there’s one up there, too. Seven of them!”
Belag nodded as he stepped quickly through the carnage to reach RuuKag’s side. He stood over the fallen manticore for a few moments and then reached down and closed his eyes.
“Well fought, brother,” he murmured into RuuKag’s ear. “You’ve proved your heart this day. Your story will be told. . and I will tell it.”
Jugar considered RuuKag for a moment then took in the rest of the dead. “He bought them time. . time to escape.”
“Yes,” Belag said, straightening up. “The rest of the Hak’kaarin are fleeing to the other cities. Within days the story of what happened here will be told from one end of the savanna to the other.”
“I don’t understand,” Urulani said, shaking her head. “Slave hunters have no reason to attack the mud cities. The Hak’kaarin have no possessions worth the attention of any elves and they make terrible slaves.”
“These aren’t slavers,” Belag said, turning suddenly. “This is a full Quorum of the Iblisi-the Inquisitors of the Imperium. They have no interest in gnomes.”
“What do they want then?” Urulani asked. “Why attack this city?”
“Because they thought we were here,” Belag replied. “Because they thought he was here.”
“Drakis?” Urulani sputtered, “All these gnomes destroyed and your friend slaughtered. . just because these elven magicians think your friend is part of this moldy prophecy?”
“Come!” the manticore said as he began moving back toward the tunnel as quickly as the gore-coated floor would allow. “We have to get back. . we have very little time left.”
“Time?” Urulani said with astonishment. “Time for what?”